Travel — Travel Blog, Teacher Blog, Tech Tips, Travel Product Reviews, Travel Tips, Teachers Pay Teachers

When I first met my husband nearly two decades ago, our travels revolved mainly around attending weddings and family gatherings, which meant packing numerous outfits and shoes. With the addition of young children to our family, our luggage load increased even more, and the fashion trends of the early 2000s didn't exactly make it easier. However, times have changed, and now our focus is on maximizing space, minimizing weight, and ensuring we're prepared for any weather conditions.

In this blog post, I'll share some essential items that my husband swears by and always includes in his carry-on suitcase.

My Must-Have Amazon Travel Products

Are you planning an international trip? If so, put these things in your Amazon cart immediately! I travel internationally for work (usually with a large group of students!) and for fun, and these are the things I don’t leave home without.

The Top 5 Things To Do in Edinburgh, Scotland with Tweens and Teens

I recently visited Edinburgh, Scotland with a group of tweens and teens and I was amazed at how much there is to do with this age group. It is a perfect size….easy to explore and navigate (and to give teens some freedom) but large enough to have tons to keep everyone entertained. Here is my list of must-do itinerary items.

TravelEmily PhilpottApril 9, 2023Global Education, Teacher, blogging, teacher blog, Travel, Teens, Edinburgh, Scotland, Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle, Royal MileComment

The Top 5 Things To Do in Paris with Tweens and Teens

One of the best things about visiting Paris with tweens and teens is that they are old enough to appreciate the city's many cultural attractions. They can visit the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou, and they can also take in a show at the Opera Garnier or the Moulin Rouge. Paris is also a great city for shopping, and tweens and teens will love browsing the many shopping streets and beautiful department stores. Sometimes the sheer number of things to do in Paris can seem overwhelming, especially if you only have a few days to enjoy the city. After many trips to this amazing place with students, and my friends and family, here are my favorite things to do with tweens and teens in the city of light:

TravelEmily PhilpottApril 3, 2023Global Education, Teacher, blogging, teacher blog, Paris, Travel, Teens, Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, LadureeComment

20 Back to School Stories From Around the World

It’s back to school time! This means that it will soon be story time again in early childhood and elementary classrooms. If you are looking for some new read-aloud books, especially some that provide different perspectives on all of the first days of school feelings, add some of these to your classroom library. I have compiled this list from recommendations by amazing global educators.

Favorite Feature Friday: Make a Copy for Each Student in Google Classroom

This seems like such a small and simple thing, yet I truly don’t know if I could teach without the “make a copy for each student” feature. It is the main reason that I use Google Classroom even though my school has another LMS system that they pay for.

Favorite Feature Friday: Prezi Video Presentations

Do you have a presentation to give over Zoom or Google Meet? Do you want to wow the participants? Check out Prezi Video!

Travel, Technology, EdTechEmily PhilpottJuly 30, 2021Teacher, blogging, teacher blog, edtech, Prezi Video, technology, Zoom, Google Meet, Favorite Feature FridayComment

Eat Gelato Every Day

I had so much fun planning our 10 days in Italy and it was a fantastic trip (I will share more information about our itinerary in a later blog post). There are so many moving parts when you are traveling but things went very smoothly; we had amazing weather and no plane or train delays! Most importantly, both my daughter and son had blast, learned a ton, and were great travelers. We had three simple rules that helped make our trip such a fun and memorable experience: only take what you can carry on your back, try new things, and eat gelato every day.

Forgotten Promises

In my psychology class, we discuss the power of music. It can evoke an immediate emotional response or a memory so vivid that we are transported back to a specific moment in time. My students learn the neuroscience behind the intersection between our processing of sound, emotion, and memory, and even though I have been teaching the phenomenon for many years, it can still amaze me how one song can perfectly encapsulate an experience. No matter how much time as passed, listening to it can make the years disappear and take you back to that place.

Together Again

When I left Diass, Senegal last May, I never imagined that I would see Moustapha again so soon. However, in an amazing turn of events, we were reunited in Milwaukee this past weekend!

Jerejef

Over the past few months, I have fielded many questions about my time in Senegal. What was it like? Did I have a favorite part of the trip? How was my experience at the school? What did I learn? What was the food like? And many more. I have found it difficult to answer these in a way that can fully encapsulate Senegal and all of my experiences there. How do you describe a place to someone in a minute or two? How do I succinctly share what I learned about this special place while avoiding only giving one story? If you have never seen Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk entitled The Danger of a Single Story, I highly recommend watching it. It is a great reminder to avoid describing a place or person in only one way or dimension. While I have enjoyed sharing my experiences, I hope that I am able to portray Senegal and all of its nuances and angles.

Sights of Senegal

On our final drive to the airport I was staring out the window just trying to take it all in. The sights that had been new to me at the beginning of the adventure, had become a normal part of my everyday experiences. There was so much to experience visually that I found myself keeping my camera out at all times, even when riding in a car or bus, because I was trying to capture everything new and fascinating to me. While the following sights are in no way a complete list of the wonderful and exciting things that continuously caught my eye, I will always remember these sights of Senegal!

Sounds of Senegal

I will never forget the sounds of this place….at times loud and jarring, at times soothing and peaceful, and at times everything all at once.

Mister Mister

I feel so fortunate to be paired with Moustapha Fall, a dynamic and engaging English teacher who has done so much work to make our visit special. It is clear that everyone in the village of Diass respects him and enjoys being in his company. Upon our arrival, we learned that his students have a nickname for him. They call him “Mister Mister” because they say that he is a “Mr.” to them since he is their teacher but he is also a “Mr.” to the teachers at the school because he teaches them in so many ways, especially when it comes to English and technology. This also explains why the teachers call him “Tech Teacher”. Moustapha has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome and loved by the entire community of Diass and we cannot thank him enough. Here are some pictures of Mister Mister in action.

Fashion Week

The clothes. THEY ARE AMAZING. The contrast between the tans and browns of the sand and dirt and the vibrant colors of their cloth is stunning. Pictures just don’t do it justice but here are a few of the designs that I have captured this week.

The Land of Teranga

I am from the south where we are known for our “southern hospitality” but upon arriving in Senegal I have now truly entered into “The Land of Hospitality”. The Senegalese pride themselves on their teranga and everywhere I have been so far, this place lives up to the nickname, which literally means hospitality. What I love is that whenever I have said thank you to someone for their generosity, they respond with one word…teranga. Here are some examples from my short time here so far.

TravelEmily PhilpottApril 25, 2018Travel, Senegal, teranga, Teachers for Global Classrooms, Diass, Lycee de DiassComment

Today in Pictures

Another wonderful day today with great people! Because my access to wifi has been a little spotty and I am short on time tonight, this will be a short post and I will let the pictures tell the story.

TravelEmily PhilpottApril 19, 2018Senegal, Travel, US Embassy, Teachers for Global Classrooms, Global Education, beach, pictureComment

Senegalese Time

A few weeks ago, my host teacher got in touch to arrange transportation for the week that we will be in Diass. We had been told by IREX to rely on taxis or teachers from the school to get us around. When I shared this information with Moustapha, he replied that he does not have a license and if we wanted to actually make it to any of our appointments, we should not rely on taxis because “Senegalese people are not as timely as Americans and will always be late for an agreed appointment.”

Getting Ready

Getting ready for a long international trip can be a huge task in general, but add in creating lesson plans for over two weeks of AP classes leading up to the exam, coordinating ongoing collaborative projects between my students and Senegalese students, collecting resources for the school and students in Senegal, planning what I will teach while I am there, trying to leave things somewhat in order around my house for my wonderful husband is who flying solo with the kids during a busy time... and it has been a busy few days! However, in the midst of all that has been going on, there are many people who have offered to help and who have shared in the excitement of this adventure.

TravelEmily PhilpottApril 18, 2018Global Education, Teachers for Global Classrooms, Travel, SenegalComment